Method and apparatus for rafting logs.



APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1914.

A Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

3 SHE BTSSHBET '1.

THE NORRIS PETERS C04. PHO70-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

0. B. EVANS. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAFTING LOGS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1914- 1, 1 32,767 Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEE T 2.

jaezk was ifZifia-raa THE NORRIS PETERS CO. F'HOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGWN. D C.

G. E. EVANS. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAFTING LOGS.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 9, 1914.

1,132,767. Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

a SHEETS-8111511133.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHO., WASHINGTON. D C.

, conveniently formed.

- herein.

. Fig. 1.

' the details shown in Fig. 9.

vmethod of assembling and arranging the METHOD Ann APPARATUS non RAFTING'LOGSQ T a'ZZ whom it'may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES E. EVANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at -Weed, in the county of Siskiyouand State of California, have invented a certain new and useful'Improvement in Methods and Apparatus for Rafting Logs, of which the followingis a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

1 My invention relates to improvements in logging rafts and in'the method of constructing such rafts.

One object of my invention is to provide a raft of this character, the logs of which are securely held in bundles or groups, and arranged conveniently for towing,

Another object is'to provide an improved logs whereby the raft may be quickly and Other objects will be apparent without specific enumeration thereof.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown, twoembodiments of the invention which will serve to illustrate the advantages thereof. Other embodiments may be devised, and accordingly I do not necessarily limit myself to 7 those discussed in detail Figure '1 is a plan View of one of the units of which the raft is composed, certain parts being omitted to simplify the drawing. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a single bundle ofv logs illustrating the first step of their assembly. Figs. 3' and l'are similar views illustrating successive later steps in the assembly thereof. Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section through a completed bundle. Fig. 6 is a' section on the line 66 of Fig. 4;, -Fig. 7 is a'centrallongitudinalsectionof a modified bundles Fig. 8fis a section on the line 88 of Fig.7. Fig. 9 V is an enlarged section on the line 99 of Fig; 10 is a section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is an elevation. of

In constructing the raft, the first step is to form the logs into groups, or what may a be termed bundles, each consisting of a comparatively small number of logs l'arranged' substantially concentrically about acore '2'. The latter may consist of a short length of log of large diameter, preferably larger than the diameter of the logs arranged Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23,1915; .Application filed November 9,1 914 Seria1 No. 870,g48. 1 1 I aboutsaid -core,"'although this is' not essene.

tial. The logs are arranged preferably with,

their large ends at one end of' the lbundlej Midtllfllf small ends at the other. The core 2 is arranged near said large'ends, as shown the bundle consists. in. arranging the logs and core about as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and binding the large ends. of

ing ends are then drawn together and'fas- 'in Fig. '2. The initial step in constructing V tened in compact form; This may be accomplishedby encircling said ends with" a cable or chain 4, one end of which is .fas-.

tenedito a suitable support 5; the other end" of which is drawn forward by any suitable source of power, for example a donkey en? gine. As the small ends of the logs are :thus forced together, the'slack is takenoutf of the chain 3 at the other end and the chain P t under Considerable tension, the

individual logs being 'bent' somewhat or sprung about the core 2 as shown more pan;

ticularlyinFig. 5. The small 'ends are then.

held together eitherby the same chain used,

to draw them together, or by a further chain 6 as shown in Figfl. Both chains 8 and 6 are thereby put under tension by the logs, which tend to fly apart but arevery firmly held in a compact bundlel The end chain's 3 and 6 are held together by a further chain 7 (which may be a continuation of one of said end" chains) the free end of said chain 'beingattach'ed to a cable 8 at the point 9., A plurality of such cables are arranged substantially parallel, as'shown in Fig. 1 with Y the bundles secured in pairs one on each side thereof, said bundles being arranged with their large'endsin the direction in which the raft is to be towed, shown by-the arrow in Fig. 1. The "cables S are secured at "op posite ends-to long spars or logs'1'10'10, the I latter having towing lines 11 connected thereto'and converging atthe point'12 as shown in Fig. 1. There are preferably'as many towing lines 11' as there are cables 8, the towing line and the corresponding cable} being attached to the log lO ati approxi mately the samepoint so as to avoidanydanger of breaking thejlatter.

The preferred details whereby assess lines "and cable are secu'red'to the log 10 are shown in F igs. 9', 10 and 11 from which it will be seen that each log is reinforcedon opposite sides thereof. by a fiat, steel barf13 through which pass I-bolts 1 L arranged in pairs, or single bolts with an opening at each end. It is to be understood that each cable 8 has as many pairs of bundles attached thereto as the length of said cable warrants. In Fig. 1 only one complete pair of bundles is illustrated as being attached to each cable, but additional pairs are arranged substantially in alinement, one be: hind the other, throughout the length of the cable. The entire unit may be about six hundred feet long, for example. The complete raft is made up of any desired number of units attached end to end to each other.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated another form of bundle wherein the core instead of being made up of a single short section of log, is made up of a plurality of short sections of logs 15 which latter may be smaller than the average of the logs arranged about said core. The method of constructing the bundle is substantially the same as that which has already been described. One of the important characteristics of the bundles, is that the logs are so disposed with respect to each other, that there is normally a tendency to maintain a clearance between the adjacent ends, which clearance is reduced by the encircling end bands or chains which latter therefore are under continual tension. lhis result may be obtainedin various ways other than with the cores illustrated herein.

The arrangement described results in the verse conditions, without 'further attention.

It is obvious that a raft made in accordance with my invention is not necessarily limited to any particular dimensions or to any particular number of units. In fact, a raft may consist of a single unit or a plurality of units, the latter arrangement being preferred. Accordingly, ll desire to cover whatever forms of the invention may be devised which fall within the scope of the appended claims. a

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A raft comprising a plurality of units arranged one behind the other, each unit consisting of a plurality of cables held in substantially parallel relation, and a plu-v rality of pairs of bundles of logs secured to each cable, said pairs being arranged one behind the other.

2. A logging raft comprising a pair of transversely arranged logs, a plurality of cables secured to said logs and arranged par allel to each other, towing lines extending from a common point to said logs and se cured thereto adjacent to the respective points of attachment of said cables, and bundles of logs secured to said cables and arranged to occupy substantially the entire area represented by said transverse logs and cables. i

3. A log bundle comprising a plurality of substantially parallel logs, means for spacing certain of said logs apart intermediate the ends thereof, and binding means at each end of said bundle holding the ends of the individual logs closer together than they would be if unrestrained, whereby certain of said logs are sprung slightly and tend to fly apart, thus maintaining the tension of said binding means and insuring the integrity of the bundle as a whole.

4. A log bundle for rafts consisting of core, a plurality of logs arranged concentrically about said core and projecting beyond both ends thereof and means for bind ing the ends of said logs together.

A log bundle comprising a plurality of logs arranged side by side in the form of a hollow cylinder, means for binding said logs together at the ends thereof and a core arranged intermediate said ends and large enough to maintain said binding means under considerable tension.

6. A log bundle comprising a core, a plurality of logs arranged concentrically about said core with their large ends together, said core being arranged intermediate the ends of said logs but nearer to the larger ends than to the smaller ends, means for binding said larger ends together in a circle of such size as to cause said smaller ends to CHARLES E. "EVANS.

Witnesses:

J. G. OATCI-IETT, J. M. WHITE.

Copies ofithis patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents a Washington, 1). G. 

